Swine flu death toll hits nine in Mexico as cases almost double

Via The Telegraph :

" Nine people have died from an outbreak of swine flu in Mexico, with the number of cases almost doubling in a week.

Health officials have identified 573 cases of A (H1N1), up from 333 instances on Thursday.

The strain represents 90 per cent of influenza cases in the country, the health ministry said in a statement yesterday.

Authorities brushed aside suggestions of a new health emergency.

In 2009, an outbreak of the same swine flu strain in Mexico and the United States, quickly became a global pandemic, claiming the lives of 17,000 people. In Mexico alone, 1,250 people died.

The pandemic ended in 2010, after the World Health Organisation said flu patterns had returned to normal levels."